The 2022 edition of the annual National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), is now set to hold on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at Oriental hotel, Lekki, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Accordingly, experts as well as stakeholders in the financial service sector will converge to deliberate on how insurance and pension fund operators can bring the Small and Medium Scale operators into micro insurance and pension businesses.

The Conference which is the seventh edition in the series has the theme: “On-boarding Small and Medium Scale Enterprises into Micro Insurance and Pension Space in Nigeria.”

The Chairman of the occasion is Eng. Cyril Ajagu, a major investor in the financial services industry as well as oil and gas sector while the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Mrs. Chinyere Almona, will be the keynote speaker even as the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Sunday Thomas, and Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, will be Special Guests

The Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Segun Omosehin; Chairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp),  Olumide Oyetan; among others; have confirmed their presence at the event.

The event will also be graced by experts and stakeholders from the insurance and pension sectors as well as the financial services sector such as Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC); Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN); Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA); Nigerian Council for Registered Insurance Brokes (NCRIB); Professional Insurance Ladies Association  (PILA); Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN); Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp); Association for Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN); College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) etc are also expected at the event.

Others expected are: Nigeria Union of Pensioners; Trade Union Congress; People Living with Disabilities; Barbers, Hairdressers, Market Men and Women, Vulcanizers, etc.

The event will also feature the unveiling of NAIPCO New Name and Logo to stakeholders in both sectors of the economy.

Speaking on the conference, Chairperson of NAIPCO, Mrs Nkechi Naeche-Esezobor, noted that the theme of the conference is apt as the SMEs sector has been the main driver and engine of growth of the Nigerian economy, and being the sector with the highest employers of labour, needs all the support to enable it continue to contribute significantly to the economy.

“Incidentally, the larger population of operators and employees in this space are left unattended to, with a lot of them not benefiting at all from the nation’s financial inclusion project, and this therefore underscores why the microinsurance and micropensions players should see this group as a growth asset,” Nkechi added.

According to her, experts, stakeholders and the general public will converge on the conference to proffer solutions on the way forward.

Also speaking, Chairperson, 2022 NAIPCO Conference Planning Committee, Mrs. Iyabo Ogunjuyigbe disclosed that the conference promises to meet and surpass expectations as consumer groups will also be present to voice their concerns about insurance and pension services.

She noted that the conference would be a convergence point for insurance and pension operators and the public that needs information on how the two concepts can better their lives and enhance financial inclusion.